r 


r^i 


IN    MEMORIAM. 

SAMUEL  W.  PIERCY, 

Ijorn  fiugust    ^,  1^4.9. 
(pied    January   9,    1&8S. 


This  collection  of    Letters  and  Extracts  from  the  Press  is  printed  and 

presented  to  the  relatives  and    friends  of    tlie   late    Samuel  W.  Piercy,  as    a 

slight  tribute  of  attection,  from 

HIS  MOTHER 


•        t        "   '. 


NTF\ODUCTOE\Y 


N 


OTE. 


) 


The  life  of  Samuel  W.  Piercy  was  pure  and  beautiful,  and  when  he  was 
called  away  no  one  had  aught  but  good  to  say  of  him.     He  was  ambitious  and 
en  successful,  but  wholly  unseltish.    He  was  a  noble  son,  an  aflectionate  husband. 

,„  a  true  friend.     His  character  was  a  rare  combination  of  mental  and  moral 

-•  excellencies,  and,  had  death  spared  him  for  a  few  years  longer,  he  would  have 

fiC  reached  the  goal  of  his  ambition — one  of  the  foremost  positions  in  his  pro- 

og  fession.     Our  late  friend  was  born  in  New  York,  reared   in  California,  and 

3  trained  in  the  dramatic  school  of  America.     His  success  and  his  sorrows  are 

-)B  told  with  touching  earnestness  in  this  memorial,  which,  in  its  humble  way. 

3^  reflects  the  opinion  of  the  Press  and  the  people. 

**  AN   APPRECIATIVE   FRIEND. 


293228 


]- 


vETTERS   AND 


Extracts. 


y 


LAST  HOURS  OF  THE  POPULAR  YOUNG  ACTOR. 


[  Sau   Francisco  Daily  Report,   January  9,    1882.] 

The  following  dispatch  was  received  in  this  city,  yesterday, 
by  Miss  A.  Martel,  niece  of  the  late  Samuel  W.  Piercy: 

Boston  (Mass.),  January  9th — 1 :35  p.  m. 
Miss  A.  Martel,  420  Ellis  street: — Everything  was  clone  that  could  be. 
He  was  conscious  to  the  last.     Full  particulars  in  mail.     We  have  just  come 
fi'om  his  funeral.     Love  and  sympathy. 

J.  A.  L.  WHITTIER. 

Another  dispatch  gives  the  following  particulars  of  Mr. 
Piercy 's  illness  and  death : 

"  His  death  occurred  at  2  o'clock,  a.  m.,  yesterda}'.  The  dis- 
ease of.  which  he  died  was  confluent  smallpox.  When  told  that 
death  was  near,  Piercy  said  he  was  not  afraid  to  die,  but  longed 
for  the  presence  of  his  mother,  who  is  in  San  Francisco,  and 
wanted  her  telegraphed  for  at  once.  He  suffered  terriblj' 
during  his  last  hours.  He  was  conscious  to  the  last,  and  gave 
directions  as  to  the  disposition  of  his  effects,  and  left  a  very 
tender  message  to  relatives  and  friends.  A  ring  his  wife  had 
placed  there  he  refused  to  have  removed,  though  the  finger 
swelled  so  that  it  was  extremely  painful.  The  ring  he 
requested  to  be  buried  with  him.  His  last  words  were:  '  Tell 
my  dear  mother  I  was  not  afraid  to  die,  and  that  my  last 
thoughts  were  of  her  and  my  darling  little  child.'  A  commit- 
tee from  the  Boston  Lodge  of  the  Order  of  Elks,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Messrs.  Byram  and  Tyler,  of  the  Park  Theater, 
representing  the  New  York  Lodge,  took  charge  of  the  remains 


6 

immediately  after  deAth,  and  they  were  placed  in  a;  handsome 
casket,  and  this  afternoon  were  interred  in  the  Elks'  Rest, 
Cedar  Grove  Cemetery.  Under  the  State  law  applying  to  such 
cases,  a  public  funeral  or  religious  service  over  the  body  is 
prohibited,  and  it  cannot  be  removed  from  its  present  resting- 
place  for  one  year.  On  Sunday  next,  memorial  services, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Elks,  will  be  held  in  the  Lodge 
rooms.  Beautiful  floral  tributes  were  sent  to  the  grave  by  the 
management  of  the  Park  Theater,  Mr.  Keene,  the  tragedian, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  R.  Hayden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  L. 
Whittier,  the  ushers  at  the  Park,  and  the  Boston  Lodge  of 
Elks." 


A    FEELING    TRIBUTE    TO    THE    LATE    ACTOR. 


[San  Francisco  Daily  Eeport  Jan.  14th.] 

The  dark  curtain  has  rolled  down  on  the  last  act  of  the 
drama  of  life  for  Samuel  W.  Piercy;  and  behind  its  folds  he 
has  fallen  into  a  dreamless  sleep  that  kisses  down  his  eyelids 
still.  He  is  no  longer  an  actor  in  those  scenes  of  real  and 
dramatic  life  in  which  he  was  wont  to  shine.  He  has  done 
with  this  world — its  certain  miseries,  its  transient  delights, 
its  cruel  losses,  its  bitterly  doubtful  gains.  Stricken  down 
by  a  deadly  disease,  away  from  home  and  friends,  and  while 
yet  in  love  with  life,  he  passed  to  silence  and  pathetic  dust. 
It  is  difficult  to  speak  impartially  of  the  dead.  Post-mortem 
expressions  are  colored,  more  or  less,  with  a  tender  touch, 
and  therefore  cannot  at  all  times  be  accepted  as  a  just  esti- 
mate of  either  talent  or  character.  Yet  the  earthly  career  of 
Samuel  Piercy  was  so  conspicuously  free  from  all  that  was 
base  and  small,  that  the  closest  scrutiny  into  his  life  reveals 
nothing  but  good. 

Samuel  W.  Piercy  was  born  on  the  8th  day  of  August, 
1849,  and  during  the  month  of  December  of  the  same  year 
arrived  in  San  Francisco   with  his  parents.     Having  passed 


through  his  infantile  career  without  any  precocious  sign  or 
mark  of  significance,  he  was,  at  a  suitable  age,  placed  in 
Riucon  School,  and  later  attended  Dr.  Huddard's  Academy — 
then  a  popular  institution  of  leai'ning  in  this  city.  Subse- 
quently, he  continued  and  completed  his  scholastic  studies  at 
San  Jose,  whither  his  parents  had  moved  in  1860.  The  cur- 
riculum of  study  having  been  concluded,  and  be  released 
from  his  somewhat  narrow  sphere  of  action,  the  school-room, 
young  Piercy,  ever  quick  of  mind  and  possessed  of  an 
exceptionally  energetic  nature,  soon  turned  his  thoughts  to 
the  sterner  and  more  active  concerns  of  life.  Even  at  this 
early  period  of  life  Sam,  as  he  was  familiarly  termed,  evinced 
the  greatest  fondness  for  the  drama;  and  ambition  in  this 
direction  had  already  lifted  the  window  and  entered  the 
chamber  of  the  gifted  boy's  soul.  However,  dreams  of  this 
nature  were  not  to  be  immediately  realized,  and,  after  the 
usual  delays  consequent  upon  the  graduation  of  a  young  man, 
Sam  was  finally  induced  to  enter  upon  the  study  of  the  law, 
and  to  that  end  applied  for  and  secured  a  position  in  the  office 
of  one  who  was  destined  to  turn  the  whole  current  of  young 
Piercy's  life — Gen.  W.  H.  L.  Barnes.  He  entered  upon  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  with  that  diligence,  patience  and 
industry  characteristic  of  the  man  in  all  his  undertakings — 
for  it  was  a  marked  trait,  throughout  his  entire  life,  to  con- 
scientiously perform  whatever  was  set  before  him  or  imposed 
upon  him.  He  remained  in  the  office  of  General  Barnes  until 
the  year  1870.  On  the  4th  day  of  July  of  that  year,  and 
during  the  exercises  commemorative  of  our  national  existence, 
an  incident  occurred  that,  so  far  as  the  law  was  concerned, 
turned  his  thoughts  awry  and  finally  determined  him  to 
embrace  the  calling  of  an  actor.  It  so  happened  that  Mr. 
Piercy  had  been  selected  as  the  reader  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  for  the  day  mentioned,  while  his  friend  and 
law  instructor.  General  Barnes,  was  the  Orator  of  the  Day. 
The  power,  style  and  effect  of  the  reading  so  impressed"  Gen- 
eral Barnes  tha'  he  at  once  advised  Mr.  Piercy  to  adopt  the 
stage — a  bit  of  friendly  advice  the  propriety  of  which  has 
never  been  doubted  and  the  wisdom  of  which  was  subseduently 


8 

verified.     Mr.  Pierey  thereupon  abandoned  all  idea  of  longer 
pursuing   that   jealous   mistress,   the   law,   and   soon    began 
studiously  devoting  himself  to  close  study  and  preparation 
for  the  final  adoption  of  his  newly-chosen  though  long-loved 
art;  and  in  November  of  the  same  year  he  was,  through  the 
interposition  of    his  friend,   Genaral   Barnes,    permitted    to 
make  his  formal  debut,  as  an  actor,  on  the  stage  of  the  Cal- 
ifornia Theatre.     The  play  was  Othello,  with  Mr.  Pierey  as 
"  lago,"  supported  by  John   McCullough  as  "  Othello,"  and 
the  other  members  of  the  then  incomparably  capable  company 
of    that   theatre.     Even   at  thi^,   the  earliest   period    in    his 
professional  career,  the  peculiar  fitness  of  Mr.  Pierey  for  the 
stage  was  instantly   recognized  by  John  McCullough,  who 
gratuitously   pronounced  his  efl:brt  "one   of  the  finest  first 
performances  he  had  ever  witnessed."     As  a  coincidence,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  it  was  while  playing  "  lago  "  two  short 
seasons  since,  in  Cincinnati,   that  Mr.   Pierey  first  attracted 
the   serious  attention   of    Edwin    Booth.     And,  surely,    few 
have   entered    the    world   of    dramatic   art    moi*e   eminently' 
qualified  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  its  onerous  duties  than 
Sam  Pierey.     Not  only  did  he  bring  to  bear  upon  all  his 
efforts,  native  genius  and  acquired  abilities,  but,  in  addition 
thereto,  he  seemed  to  have  been  born  with  a  strong  ambition 
and  gifted  with    an    intellect   sufficiently  vigorous  to   parry 
worldly  assaults,  view  life  as  a  philosopher,  and  so  sustain 
himself  in  his  efforts  as  to  realize  his  ideal.     His  figure  was 
graceful  and  his  voice  clear  and  melodious,  not  wholly  unlike 
the   voice    of  the  late  lamented  Edwin  Adams.     There  was 
noticeable,  too,  a  dignity  and  elegance  in  his  demeanor  and 
a  fascinating  address,  quite  pronounced  enough  to  make  him 
entirely  acceptable  in  whatever  part  he  assumed.     Above  all, 
however,  in  the  garden  of  his  life  there  bloomed,  blossomed 
and  still  lived  on  the  brightest  and  most  beautiful  flower  of 
youth — Enthusiasm,    Having  made  his  debut,  the  real  struggle 
for  public  recognition  and  popular  success  now  began,  and 
with  it  all  those  accomjDaniments  so  well  known  and  too  often 
met  with  by  aspirants  for  histrionic  fame.     Not  desiring,  or 
unable,  to  secure  a  metropolitan   engagement,   Mr.  Pierey 


9 

rather  than  remain  idle,  proceeded  to  make  a  professional 
tour  through  California,  Oregon  and  British  Columbia.  It 
was  at  this  time  and  during  this  trip  that  Mr.  Piercy  partly 
learned  the  rudiments  of  his  calling,  and  first  began  to  realize 
that  genuine  success  is  the  child  of  Patience  and  Experiment, 
and  that  to  creditably  attain  the  summit  of  his  ambition  there 
was  no  royal  highway.  The  country  tour  over,  Mr.  Piercy 
returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  played,  with  m^re  or 
less  success,  at  Shields'  OjDera  House  (now  Emerson's)  and  at 
the  Bush  Street  Theatre  (then  the  Alhambra).  In  October, 
1874,  he  bade  a  temporary  farewell  to  the  scenes  of  his 
earliest  theatric  exploits,  and  proceeded  East,  making  his 
first  appearance  in  Chicago,  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  where 
he  remained  one  season  as  leading  man  and  playing  principal 
support  to  the  principal  performers  of  the  day.  During  the 
next  season  he  traveled  with  McKee  Rankin  throughout  the 
West,  playing  "  Pierre  "  and  the  "  Chevalier  "  in  the  romantic 
melo-drama,  The  Two  Orphans.  The  following  season  Mr. 
Piercy  was  retained  as  leading  man  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre, 
Philadelphia,  and  later  played  an  engagement  in  the  same 
capacity  at  the  Museum  of  the  same  city.  It  was  while  play- 
ing in  the  last  named  city  that  Mr.  Piercy  attracted  the 
favorable  attention  of  Bartley  Campbell,  the  dramatist,  Mr. 
Campbell  desired  to  produce  his  then  recently  written 
American  play,  Van,  the  Virginian,  in  England,  and  was 
looking  about  for  a  suitable  representative  for  the  leading  and 
title  role.  Strolling  into  the  theatre  one  evening  he  saw  Mr. 
Piercy  act,  and  was  so  struck  with  the  young  man's  efforts 
that  he  at  once  opened  negotiations  with  him  with  the  view 
of  securing  his  services  for  the  proposed  English  production 
of  his  piece.  The  j)reliminaries  having  been  satisfactorily 
settled  and  the  contract  signed,  Mr.  Piercy  sailed  for  England 
with  Mr.  Campbell,  and  shortly  thereafter  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  London  stage  in  the  play  above  mentioned. 
Although  the  play  failed  to  achieve  the  great  success 
anticipated,  yet  Mr.  Piercy 's  artistic  worth  and  excellence 
were  most  cordially  recognized.  His  position  in  the  dramatic 
world  was  now  both  secure  and  high.     Notwithstanding  his 


10 

almost  sudden  elevation,  be  still  maintained  a  modest  and 
dignified  demeanor,  rarely  speaking  of  himself  or  his  efforts 
unless  direct  reference  thereto  left  him  no  alternative.  Of  a 
decidedly  studious  and  somewhat  severe  temperament,  Mr. 
Piercy  had  few  intimate  friends,  although  a  host  of  acquain- 
tances; for  he  believed  that  true  happiness  and  certain  content 
were  to  be  found  in  the  worth  and  choice  of  friends  rather 
than  in  quantity.  Kis  London  engagement  having  terminated, 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  was  soon  engaged  as 
leading  man  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  supported,  with  credit 
to  himself  and  immense  satisfaction  to  public  and  manager 
alike,  such  stage  luminaries  as  Edwia  Booth  and  Mary  .Ander- 
son. Niblo's  Theater,  New  York,  was  the  scene  of  his  next 
professional  venture,  playing  "  Lagadere "  in  The  Duke's 
Motto  for  more  than  sixty  consecutive  nights.  During  this 
engagement  he  also  played  "  Badger"  in  Boucicault's  Streets 
of  Nexo  York,  with  marked  success.  Mr.  Piercy  then  returned 
to  San  Francisco  under  engagement  to  Thomas  Maguire,  and 
was  to  have  opened  in  Diplomacy.  Legal  complications  having 
arisen  with  reference  to  the  play,  he  substituted  therefor  Craig- 
a-Dhoid,  a  romantic  Irish  drama.  Later  he  played  a  short 
engagement  at  the  Grand  Opera  House.  On  the  29th  day  of 
August,  1879.  Mr.  Piercy  and  Miss  Julia,  eldest  daughter  of 
William  T.  Dunphy,  Esq.,  were  married.  This  uniou,  to- 
gether with  his  then  bright  and  promising  professional  future, 
seemed  to  till  his  cup  of  haj^piness  well-nigh  to  overflowing, 
and  he  looked  forward,  as  well  he  might,  to  years  of  domestic 
joy  and  artistic  usefulness.  But,  just  in  this,  the  happiest, 
sunniest  hour  of  all  the  voyage,  the  dark  and  lowering  clouds 
were  begiuning  to  gather,  and  soon  the  vessel  was  to  be  dashed 
against  the  unseen  rock  and  the  angry  billows  were  to  roar 
around  the  sunken  ship.  Mr.  Piercy,  having  concluded  his 
professional  labors  here,  started  for  the  East  shortly  succeed- 
ing his  marriage,  taking  with  him  a  carefully  selected  company 
of  players  for  the  jiurpose  of  producing  a  play  recently  pur- 
chased by  him,  entitled  The  Legion  of  Honor,  and  which  had 
been  a  short  time  before  placed  on  the  stage  of  the  Baldwin 
Theater.     Arriving  in  the  East,  Mr.   Piercy  entered  upon  a 


II 


series  of  engagements  in  the  play  mentioned;  and   wliile  so 
engaged,  his  wife  was  stricken  with  a  most  malignant  fever, 
in   Philadelphia.     Mr.    Piercy   immediately  released  himself 
from  all  professional  work,  and  hastened  to  and  remained  by 
the  bedside  of  his  sick  wife.     The  sufferer  was  subjected  to 
the  most  careful  treatment  and  received  the  best  medical  at- 
tention, but  in  vain.     Against  the  stubborn  sickness,  love  and 
science  fell  palsied  and  helpless.     Day  after  day,  the  invalid's 
condition  became  more  alarming,  the  exceptional  severity  of 
the  Eastern  climate — to  which  she  was  wholly  unaccustomed — 
inten&ifying  her  already  dangerous  condition;  and  soon,  like 
some  lily  droopicg,  she  bowed  her  head  and  died:     This  sad 
event   occurred    on   the  27th  day  of  May,  1881,  and  almost 
before  she  had  ceased  to  be  a  bride.     Mr.  Piercy,  in  comjiany 
with  his  only  child,  a  lovely  girl,  returned  to  this  city  with  the 
remains  of  his  loved  and  lost  wife,  where  she  was  buried.     Mr. 
Piercy  was  inconsolable  over  the  untimely  death  of  his  wife, 
and    only   those   intimately    acquainted    with   him  know  the 
anguish    and   grief  suffered  by  this  heart-broken  man.     His 
married  life  began  with  a  smile  and  ended  with  a  sigh.     Con- 
stant brooding  over  the  loss  of  his  wife  had  materially  impaired 
his  physical  energies,  and,  for  some  time  after,  he  was  wholly 
unable  to  perform  any  kind  of  work.     However,  time  and  the 
kind  ministrations  of  home  and  friends  resulted  in  a  partial 
recuperation;  and  Mr.  Piercy,  in  about  two  months,  returned 
to   the   East.     He  was  immediately  engaged  to  support  the 
leading    actor,    and   one   of   the   foremost  gentlemen  of  the 
American    stage — Edwin   Booth— who    entertained    for    Mr. 
Piercy,    both   as   man  and  actor,  the  most  exalted  opinion. 
His  recent  triumphs,  in  New  York  and  elsewhere,  as  leading 
man  in  the  Booth  company  of  players,  are  too  fresh  to  require 
comment.     At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Piercy  was  33  years 
of  age,  and  the  youngest  leading  man  on  the  American  stage. 
Splendid  in  past  performance  and  rich  in  promise,  Samuel 
W.  Piercy,  ere  he  had  attained  on  life's  ladder  the  round 
that  marked  the  highest  point,  and  when  about  to  reap  the 
rich   reward   of   ripe   experience   and   a   laudable    ambition, 


12 

became  tired,  and  loosing  bis  hold,  sought  rest  in  death's 
slumber. 

Eealizing  that  the  supreme  moment  was  not  far  distant, 
that  soon  for  him  the  debt  of  nature  must  be  paid,  his 
thoughts  ever  and  anon  turned  to  his  loved  and  loving 
mother  and  his  little  motherless  child;  and,  ere  he  went  "to 
sleep  with  the  angels,  to  those  about  him  said:  "Tell  my 
dear  mother  I  was  not  afraid  to  die,  and  that  my  last  thoughts 
were  of  her  and  my  darling  little  child."  Though  the  spark 
of  life  has  flown,  yet  can  we  speak  with  a  saddened  pleasure 
of  him  who  sleeps  in  purity  and  honor.  The  memory  of  his 
virtues  will  fill  our  hearts  with  love  and  peace,  and  we  will 
train  white  roses  to  bloom  upon  his  grave.  Your  death, 
dutiful  son,  devoted  friend,  "affectionate  husband  and  father, 
will  serve  as  a  reminder  of  your  virtue;  and  thus,  like  Pelides' 
charmed  spear,  'twill  cure  the  wound  it  makes. 

"God  accept  him;  Christ  receive  him." 

B.  T. 


OBITUARY. 


[San  Francisco  Daily  Call,  Jan.  10th.] 

Mr.  Samuel  W.  Piercy,  whose  death  in  Boston  is  noted, 
was  born  August  8,  1849,  and  arrived  in  San  Francisco 
December  26th  of  the  same  year.  He  was  essentially  a  Cali- 
fornian,  haviug  arrived  here  when  but  three  months  old,  and 
after  passing  through  the  Rincon  Grammar  School  and 
graduating  from  Dr.  R.  Townsend  Huddard's  Academy, 
determined  to  enter  the  legal  profession.  On  the  4th  of  July, 
1870,  he  was  the  reader  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  by  the  advice  of  Gen.  W.  H.  L.  Barnes,  the  Orator  of 
the  Day,  he  adopted  the  dramatic  profession,  to  which  after- 
wards he  studiously  devoted  himself.  In  November,  1870,  he 
made  his  debut  at  the  California  Theatre  as  "  lago,"  and 
John  McCuUough  pronounced  it  one  of  the  finest  first  per- 
formances he  had  ever  witnessed.     He  then  made  the  tour  of 


13 

California,  Oregon  and  British  Columbia.  Returning  to 
San  Francisco,  he  played  at  Shield's  Opera  House  and  after- 
ward at  the  Bu&h  Street  Theatre.  In  October,  1874,  he  went 
East,  and  successively  appeared  in  Chicago,  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  Cincinnati  and  various  minor  places,  returning  to 
San  Francisco  in  1878,  where  he  played  short  engagements  at 
the  Baldwin  and  Grand  Opera  House,  tinisbing  the  season  in 
Oregon  with  great  eclat.  Returning  to  San  Francisco,  he 
api^eared  in  the  Passion  Play,  and  thereafter,  on  August  29, 
1879,  he  married  Miss  Julia  Dunphy,  daughter  of  William 
Dunphy,  by  whom  he  leaves  one  child.  His  wife's  death  is 
yet  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  Mr.  Piercy's  recent  triumphs, 
playing  second  to  Edwin  Booth,  who  had  become  his  sponsor, 
are  too  well  known  to  require  comment.  The  fact  that  the 
leading  actor  and  gentleman  of  the  American  stage  enter- 
tained so  exalted  an  opinion  of  Mr.  Piercy,  speaks  volumes 
in  his  favor.     With  the  poet  we  may  say: 

His  life  was  gentle;   and  the  elements 

So  mixed  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up 

And  say  to  all  the  world,  "This  was  a  man." 

Ring  down  the  curtain!  The  spark  of  life  has  flown  from 
one  of  the  noblest,  kindest  and  most  gentle  creatures  that 
ever  lived!  Good  sou,  aifectionate  husband  and  father, 
faithful  friend,  we  can  only  say  farewell!  May  Heaven's 
blessing  await  you! 


DEATH    OF    SAMUEL    W.     PIERCY. 


[San  Francisco  Daily  Alta  California,  .Tan.  10th.] 

New  York,  Jan.  8. — Samuel  W.  Piercy,  the  well  known 
actor,  died  in  Boston  at  2  o'clock  this  morning,  after  an  ill- 
ness of  about  two  weeks. 

Mr.  Piercy  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  August  8th, 
184:9,  and  arrived  in  this  city  December  26th  in  the  same  year 
with  his  parents,  who  still  reside  here.  He  always  considered 
himself  a  Californian,  and  his  earlier  recollections  were  of 
this   city.     He   first   attended   the   old    Rincon   Hill   Public 


14 

School,  and  when  his  parents  removed  to  San  Jose  he  and  1  is 
brother  were  left  as  pupils  of  Dr.  Huddard's  College.  Here 
he  remained  three  or  four  yef^rs,  when  he  rejoined  his  parents 
at  San  Jose  and  finished  his  school  days  in  the  San  Jose 
Institute.  In  1866  his  parents  returned  to  this  city  and 
young  Piercy  decided  to  study  for  the  Bar.  Later  he  was 
advised  to  adopt  the  stage  as  his  profession,  which  advice  was 
acted  upon,  and  he  at  once  became  a  close  student  of  Thespian 
lore.  In  November,  1870,  he  made  his  debut  at  the  California 
Theatre  in  the  character  of  "lago,"  and  so  earnest  and 
thorough  had  been  his  application  that  his  success  was 
assured.  From  this  initial  introduction  on  the  theatrical 
boards  Piercy 's  rise  was  rapid.  After  a  tour  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  States,  he  returned  to  this  city  and  appeared  in  many 
of  the  city  theatres  with  steadily  increasing  success.  He 
started  East  in  1874,  appearing  first  at  the  Academy  of  Mubic 
in  Chicago.  The  following  four  seasons  were  occupied  with 
earnest  work  as  leading  stock  actor  in  many  of  the  principal 
Eastern  theatres,  in  addition  to  which  he  made  a  trip  to 
Europe  with  Bartley  Campbell.  He  returned  to  this  Coast  in 
the  beginning  of  1879,  and  married  Miss  Dunphy.  a  highly 
accomplished  lady  of  this  city,  but  his  domestic  happiness 
was  destined  to  be  brief,  as,  while  in  Philadelphia  not  two 
years  afterward,  Mrs.  Piercy  died  from  typhoid  fever,  leaving 
a  child  scarcely  a  year  old.  The  blow  was  a  severe  one  to 
Mr.  Piercy  and  from  which  he  never  fully  rallied,  though  he 
resumed  his  profession  at  the  opening  of  the  present  season 
by  accepting  an  engagement  with  Edwin  Booth  as  his  leading 
support,  in  which  he  gained  added  laurels  to  his  fame.  Mr. 
Piercy  .was  the  youngest  leading  man  in  his  profession,  and 
but  for  his  untimely  death  would  undoubtedly  have  made  a 
shining  mark  among  the  great  leaders  of  the  dramatic  art. 
Personally,  he  vNas  a  man  of  fine  appearance,  of  winning 
manners,  and  a  universal  favorite  with  all  who  knew  him,  and 
his  death  will  be  deeply  deplored,  not  only  by  his  friends  on 
the  Pd3ific  Coast,  but  also  in  every  place  where  he  performed 
and  among  hosts  of  personal  friends.  He  leaves  a  mother, 
father  and  several  brothers  to  mourn  his  loss. 


15 

A    TRIBUTE    FROM    THE    EDWIN    BOOTH    COMPANY. 


[Eastern  Paper.] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  Edwin  Booth's  Dramatic 

Company,  held  at  the  Penn-avenue  Theatre,  Pittsburg,  Penn., 

the  following  resolutions,   expressive    of    the   deep   loss  the 

profession  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  Samuel  W.  Piercy, 

were  adopted,  and  a  copy  was  forwarded  to  his  mother  in 

San  Francisco. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Samuel  W.  Piercy  we  have  lost  a  cherished 
companion,  a  sincere  friend,  a  true  man  and  a  beloved  brother.  That  the 
profession  has  lost  one  of  its  most  ijromising  votaries,  an  earnest  studen-t  and 
a  brilliant  ornament.  That  in  all  the  relations  of  life  we  ever  found  in  him 
qualities  that  endeared  him  to  every  heart  as  an  associate  almost  without  fault. 
That  as  words  cannot  express  our  sorrow  we  unite  in  the  heart-felt  prayer  that 
his  mother  and  his  child,  whose  grief  we  share,  may  be  spared  in  this,  the 
hour  of  their  affliction,  by  the  all-wise  Providence  that  took  him  eo  suddenly 
from  our  midst.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  his  mother 
in  San  Francisco,  in  token  of  our  sympathy: 

BELLA  PATEMAN,  JOHN  DAILEY, 

LOUIS  ELDRIDGE,  HENRY  BRISTOL, 

EVA  GARRICK,  NEWTON  C  HIS  WELL. 

ADELAIDE  H.  CALVERT,  D.  C.  ANDERSON, 

ADELAIDE  C.  CALVERT,  N.  PATEMAN, 

EDWIN  CLEARY,  BARTON  HILL, 

L.  H.  EVERITT,  M.   HENRY  FLOHE, 

EDWIN  BOOTH.  WTLLET  CARPENTER, 

F.  G.  HEHBNER,  GEO.  ALLEN, 

W.  A.  WHITECAR,  N.  E.  MILLER, 

MASON  MITCHELL,  MAZE  EDWARDS. 
FRED.  G.  ROSS, 


HIS    MESSAGE    OF    SYMPATHY. 


[San  Francisco  News  Letter,  Jan.  1-ith.] 
The  introduction  to  Pleasure's  Wand  this  week  must 
necessarily  be  a  sad  one,  because,  before  going  the  round  of 
our  local  amusements  and  criticizing  the  performances  at  the 
diiferent  theatres,  there  stands  out  in  bold  relief  the  great 
event  of  the  week — the  death  of  Samuel  W.  Piercy.  He  was 
so  essentially  a  Califoruian,  and  so  especially  a  friend  of  the 


16 

author  of  this  department  since  1873,  that  not  to  linger  in 
dumb  thought  over  his  memory  were  an  impossibility,  while 
to  write  of  him  is  a  pleasure  full  of  pain.  His  short  life  was 
full  of  activity — brilliant  and  decisive — a  mixture  of  triumph 
and  disappointment,  of  the  acme  of  joy  and  the  zero  of  woe. 
His  bride,  Miss  Julia  Dunphy,  was  taken  from  his  arm  by 
typhoid  fever,  at  a  time  when  he  had  every  reason  to  hope 
for  many  long  years  of  her  companionship  and  love,  and  he 
was  left  alone  with  his  baby,  and  with  no  other  hope  of 
beating  down  the  trouble  of  his  life  except  by  constant  and 
unremitting  hard  work.  He  was  so  devoted  to  the  wife 
whom  he  lost  for  a  little  while,  and  whom  he  has  now 
rejoined,  that  he  brought  her  from  the  East  here  before  their 
baby  was  born,  so  during  that  anxious  time  she  might 
have  her  mother  and  sisters  near  her,  and  he  sacrificed  pro- 
fessional engagements,  within  his  reach  East,  so  that  he 
might  fulfill  what  he  conceived  to  be  his  duty  to  his  wife. 
He  was  by  nature  most  persevering  and  energetic,  strict 
towards  himself  and  very  tender  to  others.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  had  not  reached  the  fruition  of  the  tree  of  his 
ambition,  and  he  had  still  much  to  learn  in  his  profession. 
Had  he  lived  to  the  8th  of  August  next  he  would  have  been 
thirty-three  years  of  age,  for  his  birth  dates  from  the  month 
of  the  year  1849  of  which  our  oldest  pioneers  are  most  proud. 
His  history  and  life  have  been  given  to  the  world  by  the 
wires,  and  there  is  no  need  to  go  over  them  here.  Perhaps 
the  last  words  he  uttered  on  earth  are  the  key  to  his  whole 
soul:  "  Tell  my  dear  mother  I  was  not  afraid  to  die  and  that 
my  last  thoughts  were  of  her  and  my  darling  little  child." 
O,  reader,  can  you  picture  anything  more  utterly  unselfish? 
Can  you  imagine  a  purer  soul  than  this,  racked  with  pain  and 
dying  of  that  dread  disease,  small-pox,  yet  forgetful  of  itself 
and  in  its  last  moments  trying  to  assuage  the  grief  of  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  it  by  a  message  of  sympathy?  Samuel 
W.  Piercy  has  played  his  last  drama  here  on  earth  and  those 
of  us  who  knew  him  and  loved  him  may  all  say  sincerely: 
Suscipiat  le  Christus  qui  vovavit  le  et  in  sinum  Ahrahae  arigeli 
(Jfclucant  te. 


A    LETTER     FROM     EDWIN     BOOTH, 


Pittsburg,  Jan.  12,  1882. 

Mrs.  Piercy: — Dear  Madam: — I  beg  to  offer  you  some 
token  of  my  sympathy  in  your  affliction.  I  should  have  done 
so  wben  the  news  of  your  dear  son's  death  first  reached  me, 
but  I  have  not  been  master  of  my  time  these  many  weeks 
and  even  now  I  am  obliged  to  be  very  brief.  My  acquaintance 
with  your  son  was  very  slight,  but  it  was  very  agreeable,  and 
I  felt  much  interest  in  him  professionally.  His  death  was  a 
severe  shock  to  us  all,  who  confidently  expected  him  to 
resume  his  place  in  the  company  before  many  weeks  had 
passed.  You  have  the  full  sympathy  of  all  his  comrades, 
who  report  nothing  but  good  of  him.  Not  knowing  your 
circumstances  I  venture  to  send  in  lieu  of  words  the 
accompanying  amount  ($1,000)  which  I  hope  will  be  of  service 
to  the  dear  mother  and  daughter  of  my  lamented  comcade. 
With  kindest  regards  I  am 

Respectfully  Yours, 

EDWIN  BOOTH. 
Abbey's  Park  Theatre,  New  York. 


To  THE  Benf.volknt  Ordek  of  Elks,  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  L.  Whittier, 
TO  Me.  Edwin  Booth,  and  the  mauy,  many  others  who  were  kind  and 
appreciative  friends  of  my  son,  I  tender  a  mother's  gratitude. 

MARY  A.  PIERCY. 


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